[wewantaminime]

I had major swelling in my hands, legs, and my feet were the hugest! I had a reaction to one of the pain medicine they give you after surgery and was itching for about 2 days in spite of all the anti itch meds they gave me. Only one would work for about an hour. It was so bad I used my brush to scratch everywhere. Now my stomach skin where my stretch marks are is so sensitive and sore and down the center of my abdomen is really sore...that's all probably just pregnancy related and nothing to do with the surgery though. Oh and the worst is my constipation that I'm having, that's what I equate giving birth naturally might feel like...since I have no idea. I'm taking the ducosate laxative and it's helping but it's so painful coming out...TMI. I scared my DH so bad yesterday b/c I let out a yelp when I was going yesterday.

Mom went home so I've been getting up and doing things on my own, DH helps a little bit, but mostly with the baby. Not complaining. I'm moving slow but getting around.

so how did you feel? and when did you start feeling good enough to clean house and get around doing things?

[mommyholly07]

My feet and hands were super swollen too afterwards. My face too, but my feet were the worst and it lingered a while. Just prop your feet up whenever you can to give yourself some relief. I didn't have too much constipation, colace worked well for me. The stretch marks did seem to be sore as I remember. That doesn't last long though. Since I didn't breastfeed, i think my boobs hurt more then my incision for a couple days until they started to feel better. Walking is the best way to feel better faster. But, do try to elevate your feet when sitting to help with the swelling. Also drink a lot of water, that will help the swelling too. I had my staples in for about a week total...after I got them out i felt a little better. I think it took a few weeks to really feel pretty good...i was sore, but it wasn't too bad. After about a month you should certainly be feeling OK...though you may still be sore. I'll be going through it a second time and I am hoping it goes as well I remember the first. I remember being VERY slow at doing things for at least a couple weeks. Really moving around, although it's sore and you may feel like things are pulling and tugging, is really is the best way to get better faster. I hated the car ride home and to my first postpartum visit...bumps in the road didn't feel so good when you're that sore in the tummy. I only remember the pain being like i over did stomach crunches, by like 100 times or something...really it was only the days in the hospital where i walked hunched over. It does take a while for your stomach muscles to heal but everyday felt a little better. I was so happy when I didn't have to sleep on my back, elevated anymore. I just couldn't lay on my side cause it hurt too much to try and roll or sit up!

[christy005]

omgosh. i wasn't expecting the swelling that I had after my C-section. It lasted for a week or more. I was really sore the first few days, and walking and coughing and laughing hurt so bad. after I got home, i didn't walk hunched over anymore either. it was only the 3 1/2 days in the hospital. I was probably back to normal 3 weeks or so after we got home. It was better than I was expecting.

[BrookeN]

I just had my c-section on Monday and I am recovering really well so far. They even discharged me a day early from the hospital because everything was/is healing well and I was feeling so good. Yesterday I really started to noticing a lot of swelling in my hands and feet (especially my feet!) where there wasn't any before (I didn't have ANY throughout my whole pregnancy) - does anyone know why this happens? It seems so strange to me. Does it have something to do with the surgery itself or medications/drugs used during and after surgery? I'm just really curious. Didn't mean to hijack the original post!

[mommyholly07]

I just had my c-section on Monday and I am recovering really well so far. They even discharged me a day early from the hospital because everything was/is healing well and I was feeling so good. Yesterday I really started to noticing a lot of swelling in my hands and feet (especially my feet!) where there wasn't any before (I didn't have ANY throughout my whole pregnancy) - does anyone know why this happens? It seems so strange to me. Does it have something to do with the surgery itself or medications/drugs used during and after surgery? I'm just really curious. Didn't mean to hijack the original post![/b]

I didn't have it at all during my pregnancy either...but after my section my feet were so fat i couldn't fit into my shoes...i actually just wore socks out of the hospital and then could wear sneakers but I couldn't lace them! I had no clue that was going to happen. I'm not really sure why. My sister had a vaginal birth and she didn't have any swelling. I'm thinking maybe it is from the meds...or maybe from the extra fluids they give you...i don't know. I'm curious too.

[krismarie83]

I am 2 weeks post-partum and I feel great (with everything c-section related), other than being a little tired from taking care of two little ones. I was discharged the day after my c-section, because I was feeling fine and I would rather recover at home. I have been doing housework for a little over a week now. The more you do, the better you will feel; meaning the more walking you do (as painful as it is at first), the better -- it is essential in healing (just don't over do it). As far as the swelling, it is from the extra fluids they give you! I had my staples removed after 4 days and the steri-strips were off this week and my incision is all healed, no tenderness at all. I only took pain meds for the first 2 days and tylenol on the 3rd, after that it wasn't unbearable anymore. I found that recovery was about the same this time as the last, maybe a little quicker recovery with the second than the first.

[whencouragefails]

i had really bad swelling before; and then after for a couple days. I also had fainting spells.

About 6 hours after delivery I had a HUGE blood clot and they tried to take it out by exam, but ended up wanting to do a D&C on me. So i had to go back to the or...I was actually fine with my emergency c-section; i mean i wasnt scared at all... but once i had that clot i was scared.

i had really bad pain. i was on tylenol codeine 3 & ibuprofen 600 and still had quite a bit of pain. not to make matters any better my dh is extremely funny; so he would make me laugh all the time which would just make the pain worse... !!!!!

but once i got home i was out and about a week after delivery. we went to church and i was fine. i mean i had pain but it was at a 3 out of 10. but i was taking the same pain meds still... and i was walking extremely slow too. i wasnt racing around. i didnt drive until a month later though. mainly because i didnt want to drive; and i didnt really need to leave the house for anything. but dh and i would go out and i felt just fine; ive healed real well also. so i guess getting out and about so early didnt effect my healing.

all in all; i think i had a good experience.

[SmtmsAlwys]

I didn't really have any problems. A few hours after delivery when the morphine wore off I was itchy - totally normal there. Once that went away, I was very relieved. The next day, the nurse made me walk - I wasn't ready at all - and the second I got back to the room, I hit the bed. The doctor came by later to check on me and scolded me for being in bed. I'm not sure what he thought I was going to be doing!! The day after that, I was ready and got up, moved around, showered.. I was ready to go home!! Unfortunately, I had yet one more day before I actually went home. My mom - who was my support person since I was a single mum - wasn't ready to have me come home. I think she was concerned that I might be leaving too early.

It took a few weeks before I could drive or do anything major. The doctor said I could not drive until I could stomp my foot on the floor without experiencing pain at the incision. That was hard because I was not used to having to be driven everywhere.

All in all, I had a great experience. I just wish that someone would have told me before-hand how weird my stomach would look afterward. It took awhile to get it back to "normal."

[kimberlynn27]

Me too with the constipation! Ugh! I think it's from the pain pills also the lack of movement, ya know? Anyway, I sent hubby to the store for prune juice and it's really helping. I agree with the giving birth naturally part. I've been yelping too! Ugh! I understand why they sent me home with Tucks pads now! Ha Ha!

[DupillBaby]

I didn't have any swelling after my surgery. In fact everyone was telling me how much my swelling went down immediatly after. I was pretty puffy the last few weeks of pregnancy. I remember a little itching, but i recovered very quickly. I hope you start to feel better soon. I didn't have constipation either. somehow i really lucked out. I hope this next section goes as well.

[roxymama]

Right after the c-section I had the shakes really bad, and was really itchy. That went away pretty fast though.

Once I got home, my feet swelled SO badly. I had swelling through most of the end of my pregnancy, and it just got worse after the c-section. It was partly my fault...before I left the hospital my doctor told me to not sit with my feet resting on the ground, because it would cause swelling. I got tired of having my feet propped up all the time, and sat with them on the ground a lot. Bad patient!

[Zarina0831]

I just had a c-section last Tuesday. I didnt know at all that my feet being swollen had anything to do with me having a c-section. At 35 weeks I started developing symptoms of preeclampsia and my feet started to swell really bad...but before my c-section i was on bedrest so most of the swelling in my feet had gone down. I thought it was strange that my feet would swell up after my daughter was born....I didnt think that the c-section had something to do with it though. Does anyone know why that is? Besides the swelling I of course had the itching, and when they took the cathetar (sp) out I had a hard time urinating but after awhile all that went back to normal. I stayed in the hospital three days and I stopped taking the motrin that was prescribed after my first day home because I wasnt in that much pain and I'm breastfeeding and trying to minimize the drugs I'm taking (doc has me on bp medication also). I've recently developed this headache that didnt want to go away. I gave in and took two extra strength tylenol's earlier and they did absolutely nothing. As a last resort I went online and found some natural headache remedies and now my headache is gone (go figure). The only real discomfort I have now is when I'm laying down and trying to sit up or if I sit for too long and then stand up and walk its uncomfortable. Also my bowel movements arent completely back to normal yet. I wouldnt call it constipation....partial constipation maybe (tmi?)

This was my first pregnancy though and while I was pregnant all I could talk about was how I wasn't having another child anytime soon. Now that she's here all I think about is when I'll have another one and if I'll be able to have a vaginal birth. I'm not in a hurry, I'm just more worried.....and I guess I feel cheated out of a natural birthing experience.

[jessica2229]

Afterward my feet were the only thing that were swollen. I had a good recovery considering I did to much to early. I had discomfort and pain for 5 weeks that I had to take pain meds for. I had to drive 3 days after getting out of the hospital. It was the only way I could get were I needed to be. With the next baby I told my DH that I wasn't doing that again.

[littleln]

I felt crappy.

I spent 3 days in the hospital and I elected to go home, which was a mistake. I could have stayed for 4 days and I should have. I thought I had support at home with the family visiting etc... and instead I wound up cleaning up after them. I would say it was really a week and a half before I started feeling good enough to really do stuff.